Pictured is Edinburgh Airport Chief Executive Gordon Dewar, Fredrik Charpentier and Finnair Captain Antti Rautianen.
© Lesley Martin 2016
Finnair celebrated their inaugural flight between Edinburgh and Helsinki on April 18th. The journey, which takes less than 3 hours, connects Edinburgh with Finnair’s portfolio of destinations in Asia as well as other parts of the world that the airline operates to.
The airline now operates 3x flights per week between the two capitals using a 138 seater Airbus A319 aircraft with a dual business and economy class configuration. Finnair also have plans to increase frequencies in the summer with a fourth weekly flight to be operated between Wednesday 22nd June and 10th August 2016 accordingly.
Among those attending the inaugural festivities was Fredrik Charpentier, Finnair Area Vice President EMEA who said: “We are delighted to bring our award-winning Finnair product to Scotland. Passengers value our exceptional Nordic on board hospitality and the quick and convenient transfers through our Helsinki hub. With the arrival of our new longhaul Airbus A350 aircraft, onward passengers can experience the latest in technology and comfort while travelling to Asia’s top leisure and business destinations.”
Also present was Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport who said: “This direct new route between Edinburgh and Helsinki is fantastic news – it is further confirmation of Edinburgh Airport’s position as a leader for connectivity from Scotland to Finland and onwards to the expanding markets of Asia. I congratulate Finnair for recognising the growing international demand for direct links to Edinburgh, and this move shows that they have similar aspirations for growth as we do.”
Finnair, named Northern Europe’s Best Airline for the sixth year running by Skytrax, is the European launch customer for the next-generation Airbus A350 XWB. The completely new aircraft type substantially raises the bar for passenger comfort, environmental performance and operational efficiency.
Pictured is Edinburgh Airport Chief Executive Gordon Dewar, Fredrik Charpentier and Finnair Captain Antti Rautianen.
© Lesley Martin 2016
Finnair passengers travelling onwards to Asia also have the opportunity to select a wide variety of activities and tours in Finland thanks to Finnair’s new Stopover Finland programme. With Finland’s capital just half an hour from Helsinki Airport, Stopover customers can enjoy Helsinki’s refreshing seaside atmosphere, design district, world-class restaurants and even experience a traditional Finnish sauna between flights. For fans of the great outdoors, untouched nature is never far away, with Stopover passengers able to spend a day cruising through the Finnish archipelago or exploring one of Finland’s many national parks as part of the programme.
The new Edinburgh service joins London Heathrow, Manchester and Dublin as Finnair gateways in the UK and Ireland.